Gold rose in London, heading for the biggest three-month gain in six quarters as the dollar slid, helping to boost demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, fell 1.8 percent this month as an improving U.S. economy spurred investment in higher-yielding assets. The country’s worst recession since the Great Depression eased in the second quarter and the economy is probably now in the early stages of recovery, economists said before reports today.

“The softer dollar has supported gold and will continue to provide direction in coming sessions as risk appetite fluctuates,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a note. “The overall trend of improving economic indictors and inflation concerns looks set to push gold higher and ultimately challenge last year’s all-time high.”

Immediate-delivery bullion added $6.38, or 0.6 percent, to $998.78 an ounce by 9:44 a.m. local time. The precious metal is up 7.8 percent this quarter, heading for the biggest climb since 2008’s first three months, and 5 percent this month, the most since a 10 percent advance in May. December gold futures were 0.6 percent higher at $1,000 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.